Hong Kong utility buys into Yangjiang plant

06 July 2010

Hong Kong-based power utility China Light and Power (CLP) is to take a 17% stake in the six-unit Yangjiang nuclear power plant under construction in China's neighbouring Guangdong province - the equivalent of one reactor.

CLP has announced that it has signed an agreement of cooperation intent with China Guangdong Nuclear Power Co (CGNPC) and Guangdong Yudean Group Co to co-invest in the plant. In a statement, CLP said that CGN Phase I Private Equity Fund Co Ltd will also take a stake in the project.

He added, "This investment also supports the central government's announcement to cut 40% to 45% of carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP in China by 2020 from its 2005 level, whilst contributing to the sustainable development of the Pearl River Delta region."

"We are pleased to work closely with CGNPC - our longtime partner in the Daya Bay nuclear power station," Chan said. "This agreement marks another important milestone in our collaboration on clean power generation in the Mainland."

The Yangjiang plant - eventually to comprise six 1080 MWe pressurized water reactors - will be CGNPC's second nuclear power plant after Daya Bay, also in Guangdong province. Development of all six units at Yangjiang was approved in 2004, with the CPR-1000 reactor design later confirmed as technology. Construction of the first of two units started in December 2008 for commercial operation in 2013. The second pair of units will follow closely, then the final two, with the last being finished in 2017.

The Daya Bay plant was built in the early 1990s and some 70% of the output from its two 944 MWe reactors has always been purchased by CLP. This makes up 30% of CLP's supplies and 25% of Hong Kong's overall.

In September 2009, the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) approved a 20-year contract extension between CLP and CGNPC. The Daya Bay plant will therefore continue to supply a large portion of Hong Kong's electricity until at least 2034.